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When he was American defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld famously said, “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you want.” The party Jim Prentice now leads may not be the party he wants, but what can he do about it?

EDMONTON — Amid opposition accusations of political patronage, Premier Jim Prentice put his personal stamp on Alberta’s foreign offices Wednesday, dumping the top two envoys and handing a job to a senior member of his campaign team. Prentice appointed veteran federal diplomat Ron Hoffman to immediately begin reorganizing Alberta’s eight Asian offices and eventually replace envoy Gary Mar when his contract expires next June.

Imagine Thomas Lukaszuk and Ric McIver racing around on tricycles. They’re having fun — until Jim Prentice pulls up on his steamroller. That may not be the whole truth, but it sure is the impression the Prentice camp wants to give PC party members by releasing his leadership fundraising numbers.

EDMONTON — Tory leadership candidate Jim Prentice says that if he becomes premier next month, he will conduct an immediate review of Alberta’s foreign trade offices to address complaints they have not been effective. Prentice told reporters this week the review could result in staff changes and foreign offices being relocated or shut down.

EDMONTON — Taxpayers forked out $560,000 to failed PC leadership candidate Gary Mar to serve as Alberta’s representative in Asia last year, according to newly-released documents. Mar earned $275,159 in base salary and another $50,868 in cash benefits, as well as $234,252 in non-cash benefits last year, according to financial disclosure documents in the International and Intergovernmental Relations annual report released last week.

Jim Prentice’s former position as a director for a company that oversees a private medical clinic in Calgary is raising questions about the PC leadership candidate’s commitment to public medical care. The advocacy group Friends of Medicare raised a red flag Friday over Prentice’s recent stint as a board member of Coril Holdings, a private company whose assets include Inliv Full Circle Health.

Tory leadership hopeful Thomas Lukaszuk said the public wants the candidates vying to become Alberta’s next premier to make clear who is backing them financially before Progressive Conservatives vote to select a new leader in September. Front-runner Jim Prentice is non-committal on the issue, but Lukaszuk promised this week to release his list of financial supporters before the ballots are cast Sept. 6 — as has another leadership contender, Ric McIver.

Jim Prentice isn’t about to throw his friends overboard, but they won’t be scoring any sunken treasurer either. That’s essentially the Progressive Conservative leadership candidate’s response to news that contracts awarded to Navigator Ltd. are under scrutiny by Alberta’s auditor general.

These Alberta Progressive Conservatives — just when you think they might be down for the count, the old power surges up from some subterranean storehouse and you know they’re far from finished. Thursday night’s Calgary leader’s dinner was the biggest I’ve ever seen; about 1,800 people turned out to hear Premier Dave Hancock speak at the Telus Convention Centre.

At least four senior cabinet ministers have begun to dip toes into the Tory leadership waters, with now-former premier Alison Redford headed to the government backbenches and Dave Hancock bringing temporary stability to the party helm. Many members waited a few days after Redford’s resignation announcement. But with a leadership contest to be settled in four to six months, Doug Horner, Ken Hughes, Thomas Lukaszuk and Jonathan Denis are now publicly putting out feelers for support.

Poor Steven Andres; he’s the first person named at the very top of the Alberta government’s new sunshine list. As director of land claims in Aboriginal Relations, with an “A” at the start of his last name, this fellow’s salary of $122,419 heads up the list of about 3,400 senior managers making more than $100,000 annually.

When aspiring premier Alison Redford promised something called family care clinics during the Progressive Conservative leadership race two years ago, it looked like a stunt to outflank Gary Mar, a former health minister. She seemed to be playing risky politics with health care again during the 2012 election campaign, with her promise to build 120 of those clinics, also known as FCCs.

The Alberta government is deceiving you about our province’s health-care system. It is trying to convince you that it, and it alone, knows how best to plan, manage and deliver health care; and that it is able to do so without the input and expertise of those of us on the front lines who actually deliver care.

CALGARY — The Alberta government appears poised to fill its vacant posts in Washington D.C. and Ottawa with candidates who have extensive energy experience. On Friday, Premier Alison Redford is expected to name David Manning as the province’s representative to the United States and Alan L. Ross to the newly created position of Alberta’s representative in Canada’s capital, according to a source familiar with the situation.

CALGARY — Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says she has “modified” her initial skeptical view about the value of Alberta’s trade office in Washington, D.C. — saying it’s a necessary expense but realistically the province’s envoy won’t have a “huge influence” on the U.S. political process. It’s a departure from her party’s past criticism of the Redford government in the realm of international relations.

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